All great champions have slumps after a sustained run of brilliance and so this appears to be happening to Roger Federer who on Thursday suffered his fourth loss of the season. But this was the worst: he was humbled 6-2, 6-4 by Italian wildcard Filippo Volandri in the Rome Masters. Losing to Rafael Nadal in the final in Monte Carlo a few weeks ago is one thing, and even the two losses to Giullermo Canas in California and Florida this spring are somewhat reasonable given that Canas has re-established himself as an elite player.
But FiLIPPO VOLANDRI? This is a man who is ranked No. 93 in the world and had won just five of his 14 matches this year. Clay might not be his best surface but Federer finished runner-up in Rome in 2003 and 2006 and was runner-up at the French Open last year.
I'm tempted to encourge Federer to skip the rest of the clay season and head straight to grass - a surface he has not lost on since 2003!